Love Me or Love Me Not
by Demeter1
Summary: The tale of two lovers, so drawn apart by fate and emotions, yet so close, because of the passion, because of their hearts.


Title: "Love Me or Love Me Not"

Author: Demeter

Warnings: 1+R, 1+2, Relena-centric, deathfic, severe angst. 

To Everyone: This is the first, and probably the last time I'll ever ask you all to read one of my fics. I spent a very long time on this. A couple hours a day for several days. I don't know why it took me so long, but I poured all I had into this fic. So, this time, I would thank everyone from the bottom of my heart, if you all would just read it once.

Dedication: Normally I don't do this, but this is a fic for all the Heero and Relena fans out there who believe they have to constantly prove their love for the couple that has to struggle for a place in the Gundam Fandom. To Nem, Peygan, Beck, Kendra, WarDove and Ancient Lady especially. As they love this pairing and love Relena too. ^___^

Archive: For anyone who wants it, e-mail me your URL and it's yours. Spread it. Relena loves Heero. Pure and sweet. There is no obsession about it. There is no stalking psycho. Just love. Just simple and untainted love.  

Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. All characters belong to them, and all stories, relationships, ideas are fiction, in no way related to the original storyline. The story, the relationships and original characters within the fic are copyright of the author Demeter. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

_He doesn't love me._

The Sank kingdom glowed in the beautiful light of sunrise. The rosy hues of gold, red, and goldenrod washed the sky with colors that no painting could ever reproduce. 

_He doesn't love me_

The glittering stars twinkled out one by one and night faded into day. Darkness made way for light and the moon murmured a goodnight to the rising sun, which nodded back to her in answer.

_He loves Duo Maxwell._

Relena sighed from the very pit of her stomach and stood up from the very edge of her kingdom. She had been here all night, trying very hard to grasp this new - and most painful - realization. She had wandered around on her motorbike all night, trying to find somewhere she could sit down and just think, with no secretaries bothering her, with no machines ringing constantly for her attention. 

She was lucky that she hadn't crashed into anything. 

After all, it wasn't everyday that the person you adored with every ounce of your heart told you point-blank that you weren't the one they wanted. 

No, it wasn't everyday. 

Only every minute for her. 

With legs that seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, she scrambled toward her motorbike, brushing the dirt and dust from her already-ruined dress. Coincidentally, the blue dress that she had ruined for him. Newly mended and designed. 

What had happened?

Had she been dreading it? Had she known that this was to come to pass someday? That day which would mark her ruin? No, she surmised, never this. Never this. 

_He loves Duo Maxwell._

Everything had been going so well. She had had a relatively normal day. A conference in the morning, a meeting in the early afternoon. Lunch with Zechs and Noins. Her daily tete-a-tete with Quatre. Her daily argument with Sally about the number of her bodyguards. Everything had been perfectly, dulling, normal. 

And she had gone to look for him. Still her normal, mundane routine. To persuade him to join her on a small walk, a stroll through the gardens, anything, just that he would pay attention to her.

She had seen him sitting and talking to Duo. 

Still nothing strange. After all, they were best friends. 

Then Duo had run off, apparently extremely upset. His face had been rocky with anger. 

She had gone up, touched him shoulder, like anyone would have and had asked, her voice sympathetic and worried, with just the right touch of concern, what was wrong?

He reacted so differently that she felt like she had been slapped. Heero had acted as if she was a dirty object, something so vile that it was not touchable. And then, he had said cruel words, in that cold, heartless way of his…

There was something stinging in the back of her eyes. 

_Why? Why do you have to cause me so much trouble? Duo and I... We could have been perfectly happy without you here. And you're always coming around here. Can't you see anything past your own little world?"_

She had recoiled from him. It would have been no different if he had shot her then and there. She could do anything for him. Relena could give up the entire world, move through heaven and hell for Heero Yuy, and he would never, ever care for her. 

Because the one he loved was Duo Maxwell. 

Why hadn't she seen it earlier? Why? Was it true that she could nothing before her own eyes? Or was it because she couldn't stand the idea that she had lost to Duo Maxwell? To a comrade that she had once, no, still considered one of her best chums? 

Relena mulled over this. 

Yes, she still loved Duo with all her heart. 

It just hurt so much, tore at what was left of her heart, knowing that no matter what she did, no matter how many more sleepless nights she would endure through, working to the bone, ensuring that the world was someplace where he and his fellow pilots could finally peace, no matter all that, she would never win his love. 

For him, it wasn't enough. 

Relena scrubbed at the tears that had thoughtlessly decided to trickle down her pale cheeks. What use were tears? None, for all those tears wouldn't give her what she wanted. 

And what she wanted was Heero Yuy. 

And he wouldn't give her even that little. 

Relena drew in a ragged breath. She needed to get away for a while. Just a little while. Somewhere where she could lie down and sleep, without facing those demons that plagued her so much. Where she would just wrap her arms around her own soul and forget that Heero Yuy ever existed within her life. 

Yes, as long as it was somewhere not where he was. 

And Relena drove off aimlessly, searching for that place she wanted so much to see.  

~*~*~*~*~*~

Quatre shifted uncomfortable in the chilly chair that served as the guest chair to straight-backed politicians. He had come as quickly as possible when he had heard about Relena's sudden disappearance. She had now been gone for an entire night, and it seemed another would be very likely now, considering the other's reactions. 

"You bastard!"

Heero did nothing to defend himself as Zechs hauled the pilot up by the neck and bellowed into his face, real anger leaking through the righteous disapproval. 

"Why?" The words could barely be ground out, so filled with rage, pain, especially pain. He and Relena has always had a connection. A faint one, yes, as much as anyone wished to deny that they were linked by that fragile bond of blood. And she was hurting. 

There was no expression on Heero's face, but in the murky depths of those eyes, Quatre could see that guilt thrived there. Despair-ridden guilt that would never leave him, never for the rest of his wretched life. 

"Zechs." Noin's gentle voice brought him back to earth. Snarling, he pushed Heero away, fully intending to grab his gun, when her hands steadied him into a chair. He sagged suddenly, his normally tanned face paled and haggard beneath the benign light that sheltered all.

Trowa ruffled his hair and he looked up with gladdened eyes, never more happy for his support. 

"And? We saw the vidcams. What happened next?" Dorothy's calm and bland voice served as a soothing balm on all their nerves. No matter what happened, Dorothy would never change. 

"I didn't stop her."

"And?"

"There is no more."

Sally sighed deeply. "Well, sitting on our asses won't find her. We might as well start. Any ideas?" She directed the question at everyone, but it was really for reticent Heero.

He didn't respond. 

"How  'bout the beach where she and him met?" That was Duo. It was the first time for the entire meeting that he had ever spoken. They all regarded him steadily, even Hilde, who had refused to look at him throughout the night. His own eyes were shadowed, bloodied with mental wounds. 

Wufei raised an eyebrow, but otherwise did not make his usual sarcastic comments. "Then Meryton Beach is next." They all shuffled from their seats, more than ready to take on the arduous job of searching along that entire stretch of lonely beach. 

Heero and Duo were the last to leave the mauve room. Duo's normally glossy hair had deteriorated. The sheen was dull, unappealing. But Heero still ran a hand through it. He paused when he realized that he was thinking almost wistfully how Relena's hair was the same softness. 

Duo caught that look. A bitter smile marked his face. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

He deigned to reply and hurried out the door after the rest of them. 

"Duo."

"Babe."

"You know he doesn't love you. He only thinks he does."

"No way. He loves me. I love him. That's why we're still together, even after Little Lady came in."

"Duo. If you, Relena, and him don't solve this between the three of you, something shitty's going to happen. You and both know it." Her voice softened at his distress. "It's not your fault."

Duo laughed, the harsh sound rough, raspy, filled with age-old pain. "Tell me something I don't Hilde-babe." He sauntered out the door, his happy-go-lucky mask as firmly back in place as he could. The only difference was that there were cracks now. 

Faint but very noticeable cracks. 

Her face filled with pity and an unexplainable sense of loss, she followed him out the door. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Relena got off her bike, realizing with awe, that even when she didn't pay attention, she still came back here. 

_Everything makes a full circle, I suppose._

The old location of Sank. The place where her mother and father had perished in their battle for pacifism. She walked among the broken glass, shattered pottery, the burned and crumbling buildings, all seemingly ready to collapse, if not already. 

She smiled bitterly. Like her. 

Relena's feet crunched on the dusty and decayed molt of the once-so grand city. Why was she here? There was nothing left. Not even a fantasy world where she could have truly delve back into. 

Her breath caught in her throat. 

"Oh..."

A burned tea set, barely visible in the years of accumulated dust, dirt and general mayhem, that had let it live through all the years. With shaking fingers, she picked up a cracked cup. Wiping the grime away carefully, she saw through unshed tears, that the emblems on the cup were one of those childish cartoon characters, so familiar, yet so unfamiliar at the same time.

And tiny memories came up to slap her in the face. 

_"Pway with me?"_

_"Not now, Lena. I wanna talk to mommy first."_

_"Pway with me?"_

_Six year old Milliardo Peacecraft pursed his lips, and finally not being able to refuse those pouty lips and those oh-so cute eyes, he consented. Relena's baby eyes lit up in joy. She grabbed his hand and as quickly as her two year legs could toddle her, she pulled him toward the hearth, where she had set up an elaborate (from her eyes) tea party. _

_He smiled and sat down with her, allowing her to take on the airs of a princess and pour tea for him. _

_"Yummy! Good tea!" _

_Relena beamed and then gave him a plate of cookies. And for the next ten or so minutes, everything was very, very peaceful. _

And it didn't last apparently. 

Tears were now streaking down her cheeks, unchecked by any emotion other than pain. 

What was the use of her life now?

She had nothing left.

Nothing except the remnants of a broken doll cup. 

She had lived her life for this?

God wouldn't be so cruel. Life couldn't be so cruel. 

_He never loved you_

Relena's eyes popped open. The voice. That Voice... that self-doubting Voice that had been with her the entire time she was fighting during the war. That Voice she had thought she had banished to the realms of her battered psyche so long ago. 

_All you were to him was a tool to make himself feel better. _

She gasped to the voice, "That's a lie! Heero's not that way!"

_You were taken for a fool. Why would he want you? When he could have him?_

Relena clasped her hands over her ears. She chanted to the nothingness. "That's not true. That's not true."

_Poor, pathetic little princess. Who can't see even the most blatant truth._

"No. Please, no."

_What do you think what he really wants? Even someone as stupid as yourself should know._

Against her will, Relena found herself stilling, halting in her steps and heartbeat. Those words were the words she longed to speak to herself. Only, she was too much of a coward. 

_Nothing. You're nothing to him; yet you stand in his way. So... what does he want?_

Relena's head whirled and the answer, so very crystal-clear, so anti-climatical that it was funny, came to her. Why hadn't she seen it before? So very simple. One little thing, and Heero would have what he wanted. 

_What does he want more than anything in the world?_

"He wants me dead." 

The old pain shot sharply through her. Only this time, it was magnified a thousand times. 

_And?_

"I wouldn't be here anymore… and I wouldn't stand in his way for him and Duo."

_Very good. You are a quick learner, aren't you, Relena?_

She stood up from the ground, her face blank. She walked unsteadily… or was it even more steady than she had ever walked in her life? Moving to the bike, she unearthed a vial. The only vial she ever carried with her. The only gift Dorothy had really given her with good wishes on her heart. 

_In case anything happens, eh?_

She shivered. Was she dreading death? No, she had given up on living so long ago… why would death hold any fear for her?

~*~*~*~*~*~

She wasn't here. Zechs and Quatre both picked up on that as soon as they got there. There was no way she was here. No sign of her. No emotions leaking from the area. Simply, it was dead. They gathered everyone up and frustrated, everyone started tossing ideas back and forth about where she could have gone to. 

"Fuck this! She's gotta be somewhere on Earth! There's no fucking way she could left this CITY without someone seeing her!" Wufei's voice brooked no argument as he hustled everyone back toward the cars. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Relena gripped the vial, wanting it to break, to shatter, so she would not do what was so wrong… for her, for her family… what was left of it. The resilient bottle only pressed firmer into her icy hands, the only warmth she could feel in what seemed to be winter in her soul. 

"What am I doing?" She whispered to the empty air, no one hearing her except the ghosts who couldn't leave here.

"I'm doing this for you, Heero. You and only you."

She choked back a wail of hysteria. She couldn't give anything else. Nothing else would have mattered. But this did. 

He wanted her dead. This was all she could give that was worth anything miniscule to him. 

Relena looked once more at the vial of deadly poison in her hands. Just a swallow, and she would start to feel her systems shut. Dorothy had been kind enough to give her a complete overview so fright of the unknown wouldn't have affected her. 

With one swallow, it would be all over. 

Heero would have what he wanted. 

Duo would have what he wanted. 

And she… she would be content, because she had done the one thing that would have made Heero Yuy happy, joyful. 

For a fleeting moment, doubt assaulted her. What if she was lying to herself? What if this didn't give Heero happiness? 

_Afraid are we?_

"No." That one word sealed her decision. Closing her eyes, she uncorked the bottle, allowing the sickening sweet smell to waft over her senses. 

Tipping the bottle between her colorless lips, one thread streamed through her conciousness and leapt to the four winds. 

_I love you, Heero Yuy. _

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Where could she be? Damn it! Where could Relena have run off to?" Zechs obvious worry did nothing to quell the underlying mass hysteria that was threatening to choke everyone in their tracks. Sally was already having hard enough time concentrating on the road without him pressing her to go faster. 

"Drive faster!"

Sally snapped. "Zechs, if you can drive better than me at this moment, WITHOUT killing everyone, you're welcome to take the wheel!"

He subsided. Hilde gave a half-hearted giggle.

Noin patted him on the arm in reassurance. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Wufei saw the irritated look on Sally's face from the other car and silently laughed. Even under the most stressed situations, she always found someway to let loose steam… even if it meant screaming at their superior. 

Quatre mulled over a map, Trowa beside him, trying to figure just where in the world Relena had disappeared to. 

"Anywhere else?"

"None." Trowa sighed. 

Wufei frowned into the rearview mirror. Duo had been too quiet for his liking. He would rather have had airhead chattering away rather than this unearthly silence. He shifted his eyes toward Heero. 

And he slammed on the brakes to a screeching halt. 

Quatre shrieked as everything went dark when he banged his head on Trowa's. The other car also stopped and zipped around. 

"What's going on?"

Wufei could only stare at Heero. He looked stonily back at him and with more than a bit of irritation in his voice, he asked, "What?"

Quatre saw it next and could only stare at him with mute horror. Trowa was the first to break the silence. 

"Heero… you're… crying…?"

Duo twisted his seat. He looked at Heero and something shifted in his violet orbs. 

Fat tears were squeezing their way from the corner of his eyes. Each dropped silently into his lap, each unnoticed by the owner. And each seemed to come from somewhere that had once ceased to function.

Heero reached a single hand up, touched his cheek and face hesitantly, brought it back for his eyes to see, and with his cold analysis, confirmed that there was a wetness staining his cheeks. 

"Crying?" His voice was numb. 

The ones who had disembarked from the other car could only give small gasps at the never-before viewed sight of Heero Yuy, Pilot 01, Soldier of Perfection, crying. 

And there was still no expression on his face. Only rigid surprise. 

Faintly, his voice seemed to speak on its own. 

"Sank…"

"What?"

"Sank… the old Palace."

Zech's paled, his eyes dilating. He had not gone back that place since that hour when he had to flee into the crimson stained night, clutching the precious child his mother had entrusted him with. The night when he had become Zechs Merquise. 

"Relena would not go there… she wouldn't. There are too many memories."

Heero only stared lifelessly ahead, unable to respond. He could only mumble more insanity. "Sank. She's there." He looked up, his cobalt blue eyes wild and untamed. "She's there. "

He suddenly pushed Wufei out the door of the car and pressing the gas, he leapt forward and toward the Sank castle, only a few miles away. 

The others, fitting as best as they could, crammed into the remaining car and raced after him. 

Quatre watched Heero drive witlessly, losing all his calm. Duo's head was bowed, all his features hidden in the waterfall of chocolate hair. 

There was something wrong, something terrible wrong to have driven Heero to such madness. Quatre felt his heart rise into his throat. Was there something wrong with Relena?

Screeching in front the expanse of ruined scenery, the forlorn, forgotten buildings of ages past, Trowa glimpsed someone standing in the middle of all that mess, someone who looked so horribly familiar. The sandy hair brought back whiffs of why he respected her so much. Her dedication, her endless enthusiasm for peace, her optimism, even in the harsh light of reality. 

And she was there, standing there, lost in the filth.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Relena wiped her lips with the sleeve of her dress. What did it matter now? There would be no more need for such a elaborate get up. 

_Yes, that dress really is the ugliest thing I've ever seen._

She licked her dry, peeling lips, and waited for inevitable. 

_Soon, sweetheart. You'll be feeling the burst of death soon._

There was a strange pounding in her forehead. 

_Ah, here it is._

Something was stabbing at her neck. 

_Are you ready?_

Oh, yes. She was ready. Never more than now. She had never been so ready for anything in her life. 

_To die?_

She shut her trembling eyes. There was nothing more to do. She would be rid of this horrible Voice. There wouldn't be any more blocks in the way for Heero and Duo…

No, she wouldn't be an obstruction anymore. They would meet and encounter others. But at least she would be gone. 

That familiar stinging pain in her heart. 

Did it matter? Wasn't Heero most important?

_Yes, he's most important. Just remember that, my little pathetic princess, it'll be over very soon._

Only, she wished that he knew how much she loved him. 

More than anything in the world… did he know that? A fine sheen of tears welled up behind her eyes. Did he know that she would give anything for him to know that she loved him like she would never another man? 

That she loved him enough to let him go?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Zechs sprinted toward the figure, already seeing the empty vial in her clenched hand. She did not seem to be able to heed any call but her own death. His eyes drank in the sudden doubling over, the all too horrible whitening of her visage. And he knew and dreaded what would happen.

Anyone but Relena. 

"God, you owe me. If anything, you owe me that one life." And Zechs Merquise prayed for the first time in fifteen years.

He skidded to a stop next to Relena, who lay huddled on the ground, her arms wrapped around herself fatally, so like that night…

Heero tried to grasp what he saw. 

Never, never, never, never, never. He had distanced himself to keep her safe. He had done everything to make sure she would never come close to him and the evils that surround him and Duo. All he could… so why?

Outwardly, he was calm, albeit a trifle wild-eyed. Inwardly, he was a seething mass of untamed emotion, threatening to break out. And how he wanted to scream his pain then. How he wanted to forget he was a soldier, and only to see that he was someone who was about to lose the one person he…

"Relena?"

The pale girl stirred and lifted her head weakly. She stared blankly into her brother's eyes and she suddenly smiled, a smile that had once caused havoc on his emotions. He smiled back, involuntarily. 

"We'll get you to the hospital. And everything will be all right. I'll take you to Brussels, to China, to Asia, anywhere you want. Anywhere. When we get back."

Relena wanted to laugh, only to cough violently, her entire body spasming violently. Heero knelt next to her and gripped her hand, taking her from her brother, ignoring the almost homicidal look on Zech's face. 

"Relena."

She opened her eyes again, this time in shock. Catching his eyes instantly, she could only stare at the beauty that was so very lovely. 

"Heero…"

He swallowed convulsively, almost biting his tongue off. "C'mon. Let's get you home."

One icy hand stopped him. He could almost feel her normal gaiety in that one movement. "Don't worry Heero. Don't feel guilty. I did this. I made this choice. Remember that. Please." Her voice quieted in it's pleading. 

"That's idiotic Relena. We're getting you back."

"It's too late."

He froze. Then he lashed out at her, something he had never done, except that one time, only a few hours before. "Shut up. That's not true. We're getting you home." He moved to lift her when her voice, now so weak, stopped him again. 

Oh God. 

"You're a silly boy Heero. Don't take this obligation of yours so far… I won't be here to block your way anymore."

Heero felt something crumble and shrivel up within him. God couldn't do this to him. He wouldn't after so long. He wouldn't right?

No, it wouldn't end like this. Never this. 

Damn it. Never this. 

"Relena. Look at me."

She looked at him. 

The words stuck in his throat. Could he not even make a pretense of it, so that she would get the energy to live? What was he waiting for?

_Fool. _

That Voice. That fucking Voice that had been destroying him for so many years. He pushed it away again, begging for it to not come out NOW.

_You can't even lie for her?_

He stared at her beautiful eyes. 

Heero knew those eyes. Better then he knew his own. The color of the water on a hot summer day. The color of forget-me-nots in the spring. The color of the sky on a crisp winter afternoon. The color of dappled lilies after a shower. 

He knew them like nothing else. Why wouldn't he? He thought them every day, every hour, every minute of his vile life. Why wouldn't he know that blue?

Then why did he...?

_What?_

He…

_What, Heero Yuy?_

He loved her. 

God, had it always been that simple? That easy to comprehende. That possible to realize?

Then why?

_Because, Heero, you and her are fools and always will be._

And the Voice faded away, laughing softly. 

Relena shifted in his arms. He looked at her, his eyes tender now, gentle, sweet even. "Relena. You're an ass."

The group gasped. 

"And I love you for that."

The group gasped again.

Relena looked at him, her eyes questioning. 

A sob caught in his throat. "I love you. How in the hell could I not know? I love you… always."

And the last barrier around his heart was torn down, trampled by the emotions that had been locked there for what seemed like eternity. And he became Heero, someone who was himself.

Tears shimmered in her eyes. How long? How long has she been yearning to hear those words? How long had it been since she last fantasized him saying those three words to her? Oh, forever. Forever and ever… so long that she couldn't fathom the time. 

"Heero…"

That stabbing grew stronger. 

She didn't want to die now. But she knew it was too late. Too late to ever go back. But she had to let him know. Let him know what she felt. She reached one hand up toward his face. That face. So familiar. A face that she would never forget, no matter how much time passed.

"And I, Heero, will always love you."

She exhaled.

_Yes, you love him. And it's time for you to go._

And the Voice exited, remorse finally catching up. 

Relena inhaled Heero's scent, grabbed his collar, dragged his face down… and did something she had longed to do since she had been fourteen years old, and had saw the mysterious boy on the beach, laying there so helpless.

She kissed him. Her lips pressed tightly against his and his to her. It was a sweet kiss, something akin to the last dance. Relena and Heero twirled in their fantasy world, where everything was cute like teddy bears, and all was sweet and gentle. There was no pain, no suffering, no fighting, no letting of blood. 

They danced over that last mile of road in their lives, giggling like the lovers there were. 

They broke apart. 

She exhaled again.

And she was gone. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero held Relena close, his eyes closed, his countenance almost free of any anguish. 

The others breathed again. Watching this sorrowful moment between the two doomed lovers, was not as painful as thought. She was somewhere she wouldn't be hurt anymore, somewhere she would forever be able to rest. 

And Heero laughed. 

Carefully laying his precious burden into Zechs's arms, he loosed his gun from his hip holster. He brushed the hair from Relena's delicate face, so lovely, even in death. A wistful look drifted into his eyes and he kissed her one more time, on the cheek… and he could imagine seeing a red flush stain her cheeks. 

"Hee… Heero?" Quatre questioned, hesitantly, nervously. 

He stepped away from them, backed toward the ocean, where he wanted at his back, because that was where it started. The water between the two of them, the salty air that brewed such a love as theirs. He had once thought that was where the war officially began… but it was more. It was where he started living.

And he was happy. 

"Duo."

Duo finally looked at him, expressionless.

"I'm sorry."

He blinked and then nodded. And a light smile danced across his lips for the first time in two days. 

"Man, you're going to get shit from Little Lady when you get there."

"Yeah. You?"

"You know me. I'll be fine."

"I know."

Amid the protests of all the others, he lifted his pistol and pointed it as his own temple. He drank in the scene before him, all his friends, yes, he could say that now. All his friends who cared so much for the two of them. 

"I love you Relena."

A clear shot rang, the birds trilled from their trees. 

Heero slumped to the ground, a contented… what was that? A smile? Yes, a lovely, filled with child-like happiness, filled with infinite sweetness, soaked in love that would never fade, and someday, perhaps, would go down in history as one of the greatest tales of love ever to appear.

There was mercifully little blood. 

Everyone turned to Zechs. His eyes were hidden… but he knew. He knew what to do. Taking Relena gently, oh so gently, so very softly, he laid her next to Heero and placed their hands together. And he accepted, as they all did. Even Duo. 

For what was sweeter than true love?

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You know, the two of you are basically world heroes now. No one doesn't know that you guys died for love. There isn't a single newspaper out there that hasn't cried over the two of you. So tragic they say. So sad they say. But we all know better, don't we?"

Duo smirked. 

"How long has it been? A week? Two weeks?"

There was something lighter, more cheery about him. He turned slightly to see them all climbing the large hill to reach a special place. A very special place that overlooked the ocean and was surrounded by lush flowers and natural life. There were no gates to keep anyone out, for the two were chained all too long in life. One by duty, the other by emotion.

Why chain them further in death?

Yet no one intruded in this sanctuary. They all knew better. 

Except them of course. 

All gathered. There was a solemn silence. The two graves that lay buried beneath the spicy dirt, seemed as one, yet were apart. They were two people, but two people that loved, so they were unique. And beneath the ground, made by Trowa, Wufei, Quatre, and Dorothy, was a treasured sepulcher that contained the entwined bodies of Heero Yuy and Relena Darlian.

Apart in life, together in death. 

Everyone thought it quite fitting. 

The tombstone simply said, "They who loved could not be, so in death, they will always thrive together."

Hilde clasped one hand on Duo's shoulder and he grinned, some of his lively mischievous spirit coming back. 

"Let's eat!" 

They unanimously agreed and all settled down for a good lunch, complete with different flowers from everyone, creating a small mountain of floral scent for them to enjoy and remember, that love was fleeting at times… but when it is true… it is forever.

And somewhere, a place where some people termed heaven, where some termed Eden, where some thought it to be a void, existed two souls who laughed and cried in each other's arms. And kissed, knowing that they were together… and this time, they would not never be separated again. 

The love that exists between two human hearts.

For they were in eternity together.

~*~  FINIS  ~*~

Go ahead. Flame me. 


End file.
